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Currency In Circulation Jumps By 5.6% To N1.86trn In August – CBN
September 8, 2017

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has disclosed that currency in circulation appreciated to N1.86 trillion in August 2017, a 5.6 per cent increase over N1.76 trillion in July.

The N1.86 trillion currency in circulation is the third lowest, after N1.76 trillion in July and N1.87 trillion in June as the apex bank continued to mop up excess liquidity in a bid to reduce money supply in the nation’s economy.

The currency in circulation, which is the physical money used for transactions between consumers and businesses, had opened 2017 at N1.99 trillion and closed in February at N1.97 trillion. Currency in circulation, at N1.99 trillion, fell by 8.5 per cent from N2.22 trillion in 2016.

CBN reported said N1.98 trillion N1.97 trillion was in circulation in March and April respectively, indicating CBN’s consistent mop up of liquidity in the system. The data on CBN website revealed that currency in circulation moved to N1.89 trillion in May.

The CBN economic report for May stated that, “Currency in circulation, at N1.89 trillion, fell by 3.9 per cent in the review month, compared with the 0.4 per cent decline at end April 2017. “This was due to the 5.4 per cent fall in its currency outside banks component,” the report by CBN explained.

The report further said, “Total deposits at the CBN declined by 1.2 per cent to N11.5 trillion at end-May 2017, as a result of the fall in both Federal Government and banks’ deposits, which more than offset the increase in private sector deposit with the CBN. Of the total deposits at CBN, the shares of the Federal Government, banks and the private sector were 47.7, 31.2 and 21.1 per cent, respectively.”

The apex had said N1.9 trillion currency was in circulation for month ended November. According to our correspondent investigation, the N1.9 trillion reported by CBN was the highest naira in circulation reported in 2016.

The amount of Naira in circulation according to CBN in November 2016 increased by 4.5per cent from N1.8 trillion reported by CBN in October

According to data collected by our correspondent, the currency in circulation early this year was N1.7 trillion but dropped by 0.78 per cent to N1.7 trillion in February. Currency in circulation according to CBN data stood at N1.86 trillion in March, the second highest Naira in circulation.

In April 2016, the figure fell by 2.6 per cent to N1.76 trillion and closed May and June at N1.75 trillion and N1.68 trillion respectively. Further investigation by revealed that currency in circulation remained flat at N1.66 trillion and N1.68 trillion in July and August 2016 respectively.

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